Salem City SchoolsChildren First

Personal Finance:A ½ Credit Financial Literacy Requirement for Graduation

Graduation Requirement

• ½ Credit Semester (18 week) course in the

Business Department

• Required beginning with the 2010 Graduating

Class

• Available in 9th-12th grade

• Replaced a local requirement in Computer

Literacy

Why a Graduation Requirement?

• Not all students were receiving adequate

instruction on practical financial topics

• Surveys tell us that 12th grade students do not

possess knowledge on income, credit, taxes,

and retirement.

• Students requested instruction in practical life

skills

Why a Graduation Requirement?

• Young people generally do not receive

this information at home

• Employers report lack of understanding

and training on job responsibilities

• Requirements under SB 950 are spread

over way too many classes

Implementation

• Replaced Computer Literacy as a graduation

requirement

– A dated requirement of little value for students today,

most now exceed basic computer skills in the middle

school

• Requested approval for change from State

Board

Implementation

• Reviewed and modified curriculum for our

elective class in Personal Finance

– Committee involved math, business, English,

and social sciences as well as business

community members

Implementation

• For SY 2006-2007, there are nine sections

with 216 students enrolled in the course

• Students in 10th-12th grade are permitted to

select either Computer Literacy or Personal

Finance to meet the local requirement

Course Content

• Journey from understanding talent and

traits to retirement

• Stops along the way for taxes, credit,

budgeting, job responsibilities, insurance,

investments, and more

Resource Materials

• Numerous Sources: banks, credit unions,

governmental agencies, businesses, Better

Business Bureau, attorneys, accountants,

non-profit organization, and more

• Members of the Virginia Jump$tart Coalition

• Speakers from Local Business Community

Barriers• Barriers to supporting a graduation requirement in

Personal Finance: Time and Money

– Do you have a current graduation requirement that is

dated and provides little value?

– Materials for class are available from numerous sources

at little or no cost

– Practical application information

– Does not require a lot of new money or additional time

Benefits

• Students develop consumer and financial

skills to help them survive “life after

graduation”

• Your parents will love you for it

• Your business and industry community will

love you for it.

Financial Literacy

• Students scored an average of 16.47 out of 30

questions

• The older students tend to have a better financial

literacy foundation

• Some of the students have not been exposed to

any of the curriculum

• Financial math skills are weak

Students Reaction

• Students are taking the classes for a

variety of reasons

• Most students like the material because

it is applicable in everyday life

• Students like talking about money

• Students like the hands on experience

Curriculum

• Devising an investment plan

• Handling banking transactions

• Handling credit/loan functions

• Analyzing insurance functions

Curriculum (cont.)

• Developing consumer skills

• Planning for housing, transportation,

and leisure expenses

• Conducting tax functions

• Preparing a personal financial plan

Classroom

• Textbooks

• There are lots of supplementary

resources available

• Guest speakers

• Hands on real life situations